"Premium" status should be permanently given to all players that choose to pay, like VIP status in Tribes: Ascend, and there shouldn't be anything that artificially increases in-game rewards (C-Bills, I'm assuming).

$120 for 4 bonus mechs? At the very least it should have been 1>2>4 mechs for each package. And no real bonus to speak of for anyone that drops $30? That's just ridiculous. As much as I'm looking forward to this game this is upsetting if it is the path they plan on following.

Verno wrote on Jun 19, 2012, 14:15:I don't know of any "black market" for player items and certainly not gems like he claimed. You basically bot gold, exploit a chest or farm items like everyone else, there's no magic to it. Honestly that part of the game will just ruin your enjoyment of it anyway, I'm already finding it hard to stay engaged when I play since I farmed way too much.

Chat channels, other forums, there is a trading forum on the B.net forum. There's plenty of other ways to sell goods other than the AH, and until the commodities auction was back up it was the only way to sell gems and crafting supplies.

Cutter wrote on Jun 19, 2012, 13:48:I think I may cave and finally buy this for the AH alone. I know a few people have made a few hundred bucks so far. And Mash claims he's made over a grand. I have quite a bit of free time for the next few weeks untill I start a new gig so I could make some cash meantime.

I think Mash was selling things on the black market though (which Blizzard doesn't seem to have a problem with so I don't know how "black" it could really be). It'll be much harder to make that on the actual AH.

I've just been listing stuff at $5 across the board. Made about $30 so far. Won't be using it as a full time job any time soon, but it pays for lunches.

eunichron wrote on Jun 18, 2012, 16:48:I'm still wondering where you're getting this idea of a higher price point? Is it just a USB/GBP conversion issue? Here in the US there is absolutely no difference between Steam and Origin pricing.

That's not a valid comparison when EA controls the price on both services. I'm comparing it to retail and to the average price of games. The average full priced released on Steam is £30 - the occasional release like Skyrim will be priced at £35. EA is charging £40 for most releases and £50-65 for the limited editions, which usually come with only a handful of irrelevant unlocks. It's absolutely cuckoo land pricing, especially when retail prices - which support Origin - are half the price.

Seems that it's only an issue in the UK/EU then. In the US $60 has been the standard price point for a AAA new release for several years now, and no publisher has charged more than $60 for a basic standard game, deluxe/collectors editions will be more. BF3, Skyrim, MW3, Diablo 3, Max Payne 3, all launched at $60. Generally titles from smaller/lesser known developers will be $40-$50 (most recent example Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion; $39.99), and indie games will typically be $30 or less ($19.99 seems to be a popular price point for indie games lately). But it seems the problem you're describing is unique to the UK.

On the whole if you take conversions into account, EA in the UK is keeping their standard price point from the US, while Steam is giving you guys a $15 discount pretty much across the board.

The only way I'll even possibly consider getting Win8 is if it comes on a new laptop (I'm about due for a new one in the next 6 months or so). The only way I'll actually use it is if there is a way to disable Metro entirely.

WarpCrow wrote on Jun 14, 2012, 13:52:I'm sorry, but this is like saying that /b/ is the sum total of 4chan. To give a better idea of what I mean, yes, most of the default subreddits are shit, or full of shallow memes and in the case of /r/politics sensationalist, self-righteous headlines, but compare those to some of the deeper subreddits like askscience or history or DepthHub, or any of the 'Porn' series of image subreddits (which aren't actually porn, btw), one can go on and on. Generally the more popular they are, and the more lax they are about keeping to a theme and encouraging quality posts, the more corrupt they become.

Yet we all know, whether we want to admit it or not, that /b/ is representative of most of 4chan, and most new users are exposed to 4chan via /b/. In the same manner /r/politics and /r/atheism (the worst communities on reddit, in my opinion) are default subreddits and comprise the majority of the front page submissions. There are some good subreddits there (I do subscribe to a handful of niche ones that I check several times a week), since new users are automatically subscribed to the aforementioned subreddits it either servers to bolster those already atrocious communities, or repel new users, the same effect /b/ has on 4chan.

Prez wrote on Jun 12, 2012, 21:38:What is "premium"? Is that like what Activision is doing with Call of Duty Elite or whatever it is?

Essentially it's $50 for all of the DLC (Karkand and Close Quarters, and the 3 as yet unreleased). There's also some cosmetic bonuses in game like weapon skins and a new knife model and dog tags, nothing that gives you an inherent advantage.

The biggest thing is getting the DLC, which would save you (I think) $25 over buying them all separately.

nin wrote on Jun 12, 2012, 18:46:I'm hearing reports of items from $3.50 to $15. These guys are higher than a fucking kite...

If you consider what the Asians are selling gold for, and then the gold prices of items on the GAH, that's not far off what the real money cost of buying an item off the GAH with purchased gold is. Actually, probably a lot less.

A couple things, for one my barbarian is doing just fine in Inferno with no help from the outside. In fact I find it much easier than my DH who is about the same point in progress as I can survive much more punishment than my DH can. Second, if you're using anything but a cookie cutter sword 'n' board spec you're just asking for frustration, and you should know enough by now to expect it if that is what you are doing, at least until Blizzard rolls out the Inferno nerfs. Third, if you still feel that you're absolutely required to use the AH to progress there's still the GAH, you are not by any means forced to shell out real money. Your original statement of having to pay $60 to "fix" your "broken" barbarian is just irrational and stupid.

You should have no problems clearing Act I with that spec regardless of your gear, but by the time you try Act II you'll want to have about 40k hp and 500 resist all, which won't be a problem getting farming Act I. If you run into an elite pack that doesn't die instantly to a Zerker/Earthquake combo just skip it.

Turglar wrote on Jun 12, 2012, 08:51:Yeah they sure are fucking us left and right trying to make a few bucks on modest fees on their optional RMAH in their non subscription based game with no microtransactions.

I've never heard a 30% fee described as modest before. Guess that's just how things are in the mind of a fanboi. I won't even call the fee the part that is fucking players, it's the horrible economy (due to bots and exploits), lousy loot drops, and lack of balance testing that is doing that.

Not that I care, as even if you are in the AH you are getting free money for things you found in a virtual world - but isn't it 15%?

From what I've read, there is a 15% transaction fee, and an additional 15% fee when you transfer funds from the RMAH to your own account (paypal or whatever). So, effectively a ~30% fee.

I can't imagine they're using it as a nickel and dime device when they're making it as unappealing as possible to use the RMAH.

Kosumo wrote on Jun 11, 2012, 23:30:There will always be cheating thought

And that's the kicker. There will always be cheating, there will always be hackers, there will always be exploiters. It doesn't matter what kind of DRM, connectivity requirement, or whatever developers try to implement, there will always be someone trying to break their shit. That doesn't mean they shouldn't try, but the only thing they can conceivably do is be reactive in a timely manner, which Blizzard is doing. I don't mind Blizzard's always on requirement, because I haven't had any issues with it, but anyone who thought that it would be a 100% unbreakable system was naive.

Sepharo wrote on Jun 11, 2012, 23:59:Yeah there were hardcore ladders and quick informal PvP duels but did people care that others duped items? How did it affect them? Honest question since I did't play online much except a few times with friends and usually lanning anyway.

People who actively participated in the game economy did. A lot of people seem to not remember, but for a little while there was quite a few items being sold in Diablo 2 through Ebay for real money. I think along with EverQuest, Diablo 2 was one of the first games that had a fairly substantial real money market associated with it, which is a huge reason why Blizzard decided to go with the RMAH.